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Second Skin
' |image= |series= |production= 40513-451 |producer(s)= |story= |script= Robert Hewitt Wolfe |director=Les Landau |imdbref=tt0708598 |guests=Andrew J. Robinson as Garak, Gregory Sierra as Corbin Entek, Lawrence Pressman as Tekeny Ghemor, Tony Papenfuss as Yeln, Cindy Katz as Yteppa |previous_production=Equilibrium |next_production=The Abandoned |episode=DS9 S03E05 |airdate= 24 October 1994 |previous_release=Equilibrium |next_release=The Abandoned |story_date(s)=Unknown (2371) |previous_story=The Abandoned |next_story=Civil Defense }} =Summary= Kira awakes on Cardassia to find herself transformed into an Obsidian Order agent. A Cardassian named Entek tells her that, ten years ago, the Order kidnapped a Bajor resistance ﬁghter named Kira Nerys. They took the woman’s memories and transferred them to one lliana Ghemor. After surgically altering her to look like Kira, the Order sent her to Bajor. Entek claims the Order has given Kira a drug that will cause lliana’s memories to reemerge. Then he introduces lliana’s father, a high-ranking member of Central Command: Legate Tekeny Ghemor. Of course, Kira steadfastly refuses to believe what they say, and lliana’s memories do not re-emerge even after she watches a recording made by lliana to assist with the debriefing. At this, Entek says he must have the infomation Kira possesses and hints at an Obsidian Order interrogation. Ghemor refuses to allow it, arranging for Kira to covertly leave 'Cardassia. Discovering that Ghemor is a dissident, Kira deduces Entek’s plan. The Obsidian Order official brought her here not to extract information but to use Ghemor’s love for his daughter to trick the Iegate into helping Kira escape and thereby incriminate himself. Immediately Entek bursts in to arrest them, but Sisko, Odo, and an initially reluctant Garak come to the rescue - returning Kira and Ghemor safely to DS9 . =Errors and Explanations= Plot Oversights # The episode opens with an elaborate scheme to lure Kira off the station by confusing her with records and testimony to show she was interred at the Elemspur Detention Center, when her memories of that time place her in the hills of Dahkur Province. For some reason, Kira doesn’t try to locate her fellow freedom fighters and get their recollections. No doubt they would substantiate her story. (We learn that they are still alive in the episode Shakaar.) They could be out of contact at this point. # Although no piece of dialogue indicates that it happened, the Obsidian” Order must have used drugs to extract information from Kira before they brought her to Ghemor’s home. It’s the only explanation for the following scene. Entek is trying to convince Kira that she's a Cardassian. He has the corpse of Kira Neiys transported to his location. As expected, this shocks Kira. Then Entek tells Kira about the time she was doing long-range recognizance in the Bestri woods and she shot a mother hara cat nursing its young because she thought it was a Cardassian. Even more stunned, Kira says she never told that story to anyone, at which point Entek gloats that the Order created the memory and placed it in her mind. See the problem? Since Bashir supposedly certifies that Kira is Bajoran at the end of the episode, the simplest explanation is that the Obsidian Order drugged her and extracted the story before they brought her to Ghemor. She could have been covertly observed during her time in the Bestri woods. # The creators set aside the laws of physics when it comes to our shapeshifting constable yet another time. At the end of the episode Sisko walks in with a bag in one hand and throws the bag behind Entek. This bag then morphs into Odo. Need I remind you of the ,“You’re heavier than you look” comment from Vortex? Mass is mass. lf Odo took his mass and squashed it down to the size of a handbag, he’d still weigh the same. His species could be able to adjust their weight. # Speaking of the scene where Odo makes like a bag, Sisko enters and walks toward Entek. Entek stands facing Sisko. Kira is behind Entek and off to Entek’s left. One of Entek’s men stands on the opposite side of Kira with a weapon pointed at her left side. His entire body is rotated to face Kira so he has a clear view of the area behind Entek. Interestingly enough, this is precisely the area where Sisko throws Odo and precisely the area where Odo shapeshifts into humanoid form. Yet for some reason, this guy stands, watching Odo morph, and never thinks to warn his superior! He was probably under orders not to interrupt! Equipment Oddities # These Cardassians build really smart doors. Shortly after Kira arrives on Cardassia, Entek escorts Ghemor into a room to meet his daughter. The doors open. The pair enters. The doors stay open. Conversation follows. Entek leaves. The doors stay open. Conversation follows. Ghemor leaves. Now the doors close. (As I said, smart doors.) They could have been programmed to stay open until the two men left. Continuity And Production Problems # Linny Marcus of Brookline, Massachusetts, found it amazing that Kira - confined for at least two days while undergoing intense emotional pressure - would take the time every morning to craft her hair into the same beautifully intricate pattern it had when she first awoke as a Cardassian. She probably did this to distract herself from the situation. Nit Central # Keith Alan Morgan on Friday, May 07, 1999 - 6:47 am: Kira is contacted by Alenis Grem, for information about Elemspur, later we see Kira talking to Odo about the information, Odo suggests contacting the other three cellmates, then we see Kira talking to the only surviving cellmate and he says that he hasn't thought about Elemspur in years. Presumably some time has passed between when Kira was contacted and when she contacted 'her cellmate', so why hasn't Alenis Grem already contacted him to talk about Elemspur? This is not necessarily a nit, Alenis might be using alphabetical order to learn about Elemspur or maybe Kira is 'famous' on Bajor, what with working with the Emissary and everything, and maybe the 'cellmate' had caller ID and just ignored every call that wasn't from DS9. Seniram Assuming Alenis Grem wasn’t part of the plot! # So why isn't Kira complaining about how warm Cardassia is? Also Cardassia seems to be about as bright as DS9, but in The Wire Garak complained that the station was too cold and too bright. Garak was suffering the side effects of his malfunctioning implant. # When Kira asks why Entek kidnapped her instead of recalling Iliana, Ghemor says that the memory drug would have worked on Iliana. If Entek really wanted to get evidence on Ghemor, why would he give Iliana the real memory drug? Inject her with water or something and say it is the memory drug. They may not have been able to locate the real Iliana. # Jesse on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 12:17 pm: Why would Garak's codes still work? If the Central Command is so paranoid that all inbound ships are detained and searched, wouldn't command codes be changed on a regular basis as well? After all, the TNG episode Gambit Part 2 established that codes given to Starfleet officers are changed every few HOURS. Seniram Maybe someone found a way to ensure Garak’s codes were reinstated. Category:EpisodesCategory:Deep Space Nine